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2015 Sustainable Enterprise Conference Greening Statement

Planning of the 10th Sustainable Enterprise Conference (SEC) is underway and once again we have renewed our commitment to continually reducing the environmental impacts of the event by taking a fresh look at opportunities to improve over last year and focusing our efforts to provide a high-impact experience in a low-impact manner.

The annual Sustainable Enterprise Conference is about finding out how North Bay businesses, government agencies and our communities are working together to build a resilient community, secure a local food system, and mitigate global climate events. This year’s topics will be:

Clean Energy for a Sustainable Future

Financing Sustainable Startups

Social Capital and Civic Innovation

Water and the Future

Climate Adaptation and Mitigation

Sustainable Transportation for Now and the Future

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Conference Venue – Energy, Water, Waste

We are very pleased to be at Sonoma Mountain Village again this year. The 200-acre, mixed-use, solar powered, zero-waste community is a pioneer in sustainable design and philosophy.

The energy for the conference will be from the onsite 2.14 MW rooftop photovoltaic array.

We invite speakers from the Bay Area to attend our conference to avoid unnecessary flights.

The bar inside Sally Tomatoes is made from the wood of an old Redwood tree blocking a stream and is sealed with a low VOC water-based stain.

Sally Tomatoes’ used bottles and cans are recycled by the Rotary Club at Sonoma State University and the funds benefit their local projects.

Food scraps from Sally Tomatoes is collected in a bucket and picked up two times per week by Pepper Farms and goes to feed their chickens.

The used oil by the restaurant goes into a 50-gallon drum and is collected for use as biofuel by Yokayo Biofuel in Ukiah.

All waste is separated, batteries are recycled and fixtures are LED. Egg cartons are reused, as are boxes.

In 2010 Sally Tomatoes purchased a new ice machine that lowered their water usage by 20% because water that was being lost is being captured and reused by the new machine.

Washing soaps are biodegradable from EcoLab.

Gerard is an active community member. He is the planning commissioner of Rohnert Park and he is on the Board of Rotary Club of Cotati.

Transportation

The Sustainable Enterprise Conference is proud to announce RideScout as its Official Transit Partner for 2015!

RideScout is a technology platform that helps users find and book public, private, and social rides using their free app for iOS and Android. RideScout is available in over 70 cities across North America and enables users to search for transportation options in real time and select the best service. Real time transit and traffic data are integrated for accurate information for all rides, including ride for hire, black car, taxi, rideshare, transit, bus, bike share, carpool, walking, biking, driving and parking. The app eases traffic congestion by encouraging people to get out of their car and use sustainable transit options.

This transportation program is implemented in conjunction with the Sonoma County Transportation Authority, the Climate Protection Authority and Avego. Our goal is to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions generated by transportation to and from the conference (a large portion of the event’s carbon footprint). In real-time and with ease of using your mobile device, you can coordinate a ride easy. Of all the solutions, we've found RideScout is your best resource to help you find the best route to and from the conference.

All produce at Sally Tomatoes is purchased from Andy’s Market or Sonoma Organics. Meat is sourced from Sonoma Direct. All pastries and sweets are made on location.

Beverages for the event are all from companies with strong sustainability profiles. Teas in the morning break come from Traditional Medicinals who represents the vanguard of environmental and social responsibility. At lunch we'll have organic Yerba Mate from Guayaki a mission driven company with a goal to reforest 200,000 acres of rainforest. Wines come from Rodney Strong and Jackson Family Wines, two Sonoma County wineries leading the way in sustainability. And the beer is from Petaluma's HenHouse Brewing who recently added to their green credentials with the purchase of a hybrid deliver truck.

Instead of paper and plastic dishware, conference attendees will be dining with ceramic dishware and Plastic water bottles will not be used at the conference. Instead, we will be providing filtered water from bulk containers, along with ceramic mugs. The filtered water is provided by FloWater.

Paper / Ink

Exhibitors in the exhibitor hall are asked to avoid handing out trinkets and other disposable swag that would likely end up in the landfill.

Over the years, we have done a lot to reduce the amount of paper created by conference activities by limiting the amount of printed material and maximizing electronic communication and registration, as well as making presentation materials available on the conference website.

In addition, the conference paper is printed on 100% PCW paper. Post Consumer Waste paper is made out of paper which has been used by consumers, then collected for recycling. This is the best paper to use, as it creates demand for paper which would normally end up in the landfill and no trees are cut down for making the paper. This in turn has the positive effects of reducing the volume of our landfills and creates an economic incentive for recycling centers.

We work together with the North Coast Mac Users Group (NCMUG - httpp://www.ncmug.org). We encourage attendees to help foster teens by donating any type of used ink or toner cartridges. Please deposit in the NCMUG Donation Box at SEC.

We strive to engage in meaningful and transparent sustainability activities that include you, the conference participants, and require your partnership in order to be successful. We encourage each of you to help us create a highly sustainable event by:

Bringing your own reusable water bottle

Carpooling to the event using RideScout

Depositing your recyclable and compostable items in appropriate bins

Sharing your ideas on how we can improve

The SEC organizers and we share your passion for creating sustainable businesses, communities and lifestyles. Thank you for attending the conference and thank your for helping to make it GREEN!

“It has been a pleasure to host the SEC for the past 8 years, during that time we have enjoyed partnering with various vendors and local groups to better understand the challenges of our time. The conferences are always well attended and afford us a special fellowship among like minded business and community leaders. The networking and synergy that is created by the organizers has resulted in many changed practices here at Sally Tomatoes and wonderful new business opportunities”

~ Gerard Giudice, President, Sally Tomatoes

“We are thrilled to host the Sustainable Enterprise Conference for the 10th year. This important event is well aligned with our values and mission as a One Planet Community.”